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Cersei Lannister
In the story, Cersei Lannister, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, is the wife of King Robert Baratheon. Her father arranged the marriage after his attempt to betroth her to Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, as she wanted, failed. The Targaryen dynasty lost the war, and her father schemed his way into the role of a political counselor for the newly crowned King Robert. The Lannisters are the richest family in Westeros and helped him to win the Throne, which is why Robert agreed to a marriage between them. Cersei has a twin brother, Jaime, with whom she has been involved in an incestuous affair. All three of Cersei's children are Jaime's, which is unbeknownst to the king and causes a power struggle in the wake of his death known as the 'War of Five Kings'. Cersei's main character attributes are her lust for power and love for her children, whom she seeks to protect. History A Game of Thrones Robert, Cersei, and most of the court visit the North to appoint Eddard Stark as Hand of the King. During the royal visit to Winterfell, Eddard's son Bran finds Cersei and Jaime committing incest in a tower. To prevent their adultery and incest from being revealed, Jaime pushes Bran from the tower. Bran survives, but has no memory of the fall and is left paraplegic. Eddard eventually discovers the truth of Cersei's infidelity and confronts her, giving her the opportunity to flee into exile and thus spare her children certain execution. Cersei had already arranged Robert's death in a hunting "accident"; when he dies, Cersei seizes control as regent and has Eddard arrested for treason. Cersei intends for Eddard to publicly confess and join the Night's Watch as punishment, but instead Joffrey orders Ned executed. A Clash of Kings Frustrated with Cersei's many political blunders as well as her failure to control Joffrey, Tywin appoints Tyrion Hand of the King, with explicit instructions to control Cersei and Joffrey. Once at the capital, Tyrion enters into a bitter power struggle with Cersei, subverting her authority and removing her supporters from positions of power. In Jaime's absence, Cersei begins taking other lovers, including their cousin Lancel Lannister. When Stannis Baratheon sails on King's Landing, Cersei and Joffrey hide in a tower, leaving Tyrion to mastermind the defense of the city. Ultimately, Tywin arrives in time to force Stannis to retreat and save the city. A Storm of Swords After formally assuming his position as Hand of the King, Tywin makes it clear to Cersei that she is no longer welcome at Small Council meetings, de factostripping her of political authority. Furthermore, Tywin intends to wed Cersei to Wilas Tyrell in order to form an alliance with House Tyrell. This state of affairs is shaken when Joffrey is poisoned at his wedding feast. Maddened with grief at the loss of her eldest child, Cersei lashes out against Tyrion, accusing him of poisoning the king out of revenge. Cersei manipulates Tyrion's trial to ensure a guilty verdict, by bribing and intimidating witnesses. When Tyrion demands a trial by combat, Cersei selects the imposing Gregor Clegane, "The Mountain," as the Crown's champion. The Mountain prevails, killing Tyrion's champion Oberyn Martell. Tywin then pronounces Tyrion guilty and sentences him to death, but Tyrion escapes prison and kills Tywin. Cersei is once again in complete control of the capital. A Feast for Crows With the deaths of her father and elder son, Cersei de facto rules the kingdom. Her youngest child, Tommen Baratheon, is crowned king but is widely considered weak, signing every decree that passes in front of him. He is leading a kingdom on the brink of ruin: the huge losses suffered by House Lannister in the war, combined with the wartime disruptions to trade and harvest, render the Lannisters dependent on resources from House Tyrell. The Tyrells leverage this position and begin to build power in the capital, much to Cersei's consternation. Furthermore, Cersei makes a series of political and economic blunders, alienating allies such as Pycelleand Kevan Lannister. In an attempt to undermine the Tyrells, as well as release her son from his marriage to Margaery Tyrell, Cersei attempts to frame Margaery for adultery and treason. However, this plot backfires as the investigation into Margaery reveals evidence of Cersei's own adultery and Cersei's complicity in Robert's death, resulting in her arrest by the Faith. Cersei sends a letter to Jaime, asking him for help, but he burns her note. A Dance with Dragons Cersei confesses her post-marital affairs (although not her relationship with Jaime), while the more serious charges of regicide and incest are to be settled in a trial by combat. Cersei is punished with a walk of shame, forced to strip and walk naked through the capital in full view of the public. She nearly breaks down in tears near the end. With Cersei confined to the Red Keep awaiting trial, the kingdom is run by Pycelle and Kevan. However, at the nadir of Cersei's fortunes, Varys returns to the capital and murders both Pycelle and Kevan. The book ends with Cersei's fate unknown.